Remember then how you accepted and heard; keep it, and repent. If you are not watchful, I will come like a thief, and you will never know at what hour I will come upon you.
However, you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; they will walk with me dressed in white, because they are worthy.“‘ The victor will thus be dressed in white, and I will never erase his name from the book of life but will acknowledge his name in the presence of my Father and of his angels. “‘Whoever has ears ought to hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”
“ "To the angel of the Church in Laodicea, write this: “‘The Amen, the faithful and true witness, the source of God’s creation, says this: “I know your works; I know that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, ‘I am rich and affluent and have no need of anything,’ and yet do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I advise you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich, and white garments to put on so that your shameful nakedness may not be exposed, and buy ointment to smear on your eyes so that you may see.
Those whom I love, I reprove and chastise. Be earnest, therefore, and repent. “‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, then I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me. I will give the victor the right to sit with me on my throne, as I myself first won the victory and sit with my Father on his throne. “‘Whoever has ears ought to hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’” (Revelation 3:1-6, 14-22)
Do we walk with Jesus dressed in white, because we are worthy? Have we taken a stand on our faith by actively defending it through word and deed? Or, are we just lukewarm to be spit out of Jesus’ mouth? According to Revelation, he wants us to be either hot or cold about our faith meaning at least we have taken a strong position one way or another. Hot or cold we are loved by Jesus, but the latter provides him with an opportunity to “reprove and chastise,” that is, to have a conversation with us we may not like, but need.
Father John Dear in his 2000 book “Jesus the Rebel: Bearer of God’s Peace and Justice” said: “As Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in landmark book, ‘The Cost of Discipleship' shortly before he was executed by the Nazis, our discipleship has become comfortable and cheap. We rarely glimpse, at least in First World America, the radical discipleship that the Gospels demand. Rather, we have become safe, silent, somnolent churchgoers. Discipleship to Jesus has lost its edge; it is no longer illegal. It is, in fact, legal, mainstream, and expected of us by the dominant culture. It is far from revolutionary. It has become a private, personal affair with few social ramifications.”
Dear then speaks more truth: “Discipleship to Jesus, according to the gospel, requires that we love our enemies, demand justice for the poor, seek liberation of the oppressed, visit the sick and imprisoned, topple the idols of death, resist militarism, reject consumerism, dismantle racism, create community, beat swords into plowshares, and worship the God of peace. If we try to engage in these social practices, we will feel the sting of discipleship and the gospel will come alive.”
Jesus always stands at our doors and knocks. Do we hear his voice and open the door? If “yes,” then we will earn the right to sit with him on his throne as his disciples.
Deacon David Pierce
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